80 feral cats trapped, neutered, and released back into their Vinita-area neighborhoods

50 abused or hoarded dogs rescued, returned to health, spayed/neutered, and adopted

53 dogs and 41 cats, belonging to 75 low income Craig County pet owners, spayed or neutered at an affordable cost thanks to a new grant-funded program

24 special events where PAAS reached out to the public to encourage pet adoption, spay/neuter, and the humane treatment of animals; events included Oktoberfest, community parades, Calf Fry Festival, retail outlets and other events and venues; plus our own popular fundraising events, Run Jack Run (with Home of Hope) and Ride to Rescue Poker Run.

10 guest appearances by PAAS executive director before broadcast media and community organizations telling the PAAS story and encouraging public involvement and support

In spite of our aggressive outreach efforts and the extensive coverage of our work by the Vinita Daily Journal, local residents have not been coming forward in sufficient numbers to adopt the many unwanted animals surrendered by their neighbors and picked up by Animal Control.

This became obvious two months after we opened in 2015, when the shelter was full to capacity with 50 dogs and even more cats, with long waiting lists of more owners wanting to surrender their pets.

We had a problem: too much supply and not enough local demand.

Through effective networking, PAAS built a relationship with a large, highly respected animal shelter in Denver, Colorado, who agreed to take our dogs. In that state, spay/neuter has been so successful, there is actually a shortage of adoptable dogs.

PAAS has since gained a reputation in the animal welfare field for transporting locally unwanted dogs to our Colorado adoption partner, which has forever homes waiting for them.

Thanks to the generous support of people who believe in us, we bought a spacious transport van that can hold up to 30 pet carriers. A grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) supported the early stages of the out-of-state transport program.

Another grant from a major private animal welfare foundation charged PAAS with the mission of expanding our successful transport program to a larger area of rural Oklahoma, working with local non-profit rescues, shelters and government animal control operations. We now serve as a trusted regional hub for the humane collection, temporary care, and transport of unwanted dogs for adoption out of-state.

One reason the transport program has been so successful is that we have acquired a reputation for providing highly desirable, adoptable dogs. They are healthy, have had their shots, are spayed or neutered, and are well socialized with both people and other dogs.

Sometimes the dogs we rescue need special help with socialization, so we established a program with the Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Center (NOCC) in Vinita, modeled on a successful program the executive director had managed with another Oklahoma prison.

Specially selected and trained inmates take a group of dogs for an eight-week period during which the dogs live with and are cared for by the inmates who put them through daily obedience training.

Not only is this program beneficial for the dogs, ensuring their successful adoption, it also helps the prisoners who must maintain a near-perfect behavior record to participate. For many of the inmates, the program is a unique opportunity to learn how to give and receive unconditional love and their involvement decreases depression and aggressive behavior. According to the Warden, the program raises the morale of the entire prison population. A real win-win!

We work diligently to educate the public about the serious problem of pet over-population, constantly sending the message that responsible pet owners spay or neuter their animals.

Pet owners of limited financial means want to be responsible pet owners, too, but the cost of the surgery can be prohibitive for them, ranging from $30 to $100+ per animal, depending on species, sex, and size.

To address this problem, PAAS received a foundation grant to provide subsidized spay/neuter surgeries for the pets of qualified local low income residents, who pay only $10, with the remainder covered by the grant. All four area small-animal veterinarians are participating in the program, giving PAAS a discount on their customary fees, helping us stretch the grant to serve more pets. The animal doctors are truly our partners in tackling pet over-population in Northeast Oklahoma, and we appreciate them!

We have been fortunate to receive grants for specific programs like the subsidized spay/neuter program and out-of-state transport of locally unwanted dogs.

Grants are essential for specific projects like these, but they don’t pay the light bill, or for dog kibble and cat crunchies, or for supplies like medicine, flea treatment, and cat litter.

For these mundane everyday shelter necessities, we depend on you, our supporters, friends, and neighbors, who care about rescuing homeless animals as much as we do. We are making a difference…in the lives of the dogs and cats we save, in the communities we serve, and in the lives of the happy families who adopt our animals.

Please help us continue to make a difference. We invite you to make a special year-end contribution to PAAS so we can continue our work. It is important work. We depend on you to get it done.

PAAS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; donations to PAAS are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Thank you for taking the time to read this year-end progress report. And thank you in advance for your generous gift.

To make a donation to PAAS, please CLICK HERE and you will be taken to our secure Paypal donation page where you can enter the donation of your choosing. Remember, you do NOT have to have a Paypal account to securely donate on that page.

We wish you and your family (including your fur babies, of course!) warmest holiday greetings and best wishes for the new year!